May 2015

Maybe you want to get a college degree, but want to first take a few online courses to better judge your motivation. Or, maybe you need to take some prerequisite courses prior to graduate school. Or, maybe you just want to save some money on your degree. Whatever the reason, if you are searching for online college courses, you are almost certainly seeing a huge variance in prices. For instance, a three-credit course at Arizona State University Online is about $1500. The same course at a community college is, on average, about $330 for in-state students or $700 for out-of-state students. StraighterLine offers most courses for $59 each on top of a $99 per month membership fee (courses end up being about $150 per course on average). W ...

First, congratulations! You’ve taken an important first step toward achieving your educational goals. Now that you’ve signed up for courses, you can get started on the path toward success. Here is a plan to get you started: 1. Log in to your account. This step may seem obvious, but you might be surprised to learn that some students sign up for online courses and never actually log in! Taking this first important step is crucial, so try logging in as soon as possible after signing up. At StraighterLine, we offer a personalized dashboard that contains all of the tools you’ll ultimately need to move through your courses. You’ll find orientation videos, information about support, a system check to ensure you have the proper hard ...

Nancy Amoroso worked in the criminal justice field for over 20 years, but had never earned her degree. And that was fine for a couple decades - until it wasn’t. Not sure where to start? Get your free personalized degree plan today! Years ago, having a bachelor’s degree wasn’t the requirement it is now is for police officers, or others criminal justice positions. These days, if you want to be competitive in the criminal justice job marketplace, or move up in the ranks - you need a bachelor’s degree. Nancy has been around long enought to witness this change first hand: “A lot of my colleagues are in the same position as I am - needing to go back to school [after years on the job] in order to qualify for advancement.” Na ...

By Danika Rockett, Ph.D. It’s that time of year! The month of May is the perfect symbol of growth and new beginnings, so it’s fitting that lots of graduation ceremonies are held in May. In fact, many StraighterLine partner colleges will hold their commencement ceremonies in the coming days and weeks, and oftentimes graduates and attendees are treated to a keynote address by a prominent alum: Grambling State University: May 8, keynote Congressman Ralph Abraham Northwestern State University of Louisiana: May 8, keynote Wall Street Journal reporter Gary Fields Liberty University: May 9, keynote Gov. Jeb Bush University of Louisiana at Monroe: May 9, keynote LA Department of Agriculture & Forestry commissioner Dr. Mike Strai ...

By Indiana Tech Contributor, Nicole Scott When distance education first started gaining momentum, independent study and online classes were an unknown to many employers. They were unsure how to view the value and worth of such degrees. Now, we live in a digitally connected time and the majority of students need to continue to work while attending undergraduate or graduate school. Online classes make it far easier for working adults to go back to school. As such, employers recognize that online education produces many of the best-qualified, most-experienced graduates. Following this trend in higher education, for example, many of our Indiana Tech students also take online classes as a part of their degree program or complete their deg ...